Prime Ticket and Fox Sports West will air classic Ducks and Kings playoff games beginning next week in light of the NHL canceling the first two weeks of the regular season due to the current lockout.

The Ducks' Game 1 triple overtime thriller against Detroit in the 2003 Western Conference quarterfinals will be shown by Prime Ticket on Tuesday at 7 p.m. PT and their clinching Game 4 win over the Red Wings will be televised at 9:30 p.m.

On Oct. 23, Prime Ticket will air Game 2 of the 2003 Western Conference semifinals against Dallas at 7 p.m. followed by the clinching Game 6 win over the Stars.

Fox Sports West will show Kings' games from their 2012 run to their first Stanley Cup title. Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals against Vancouver will be shown on Wednesday beginning at 7 p.m.

A week later, the Kings' Game 3 win over the Canucks will be televised followed by their Game 5 triumph that became the franchise's first playoff series win since 2001.

For the first time, Justin Schultz spoke about his decision to turn aside the Ducks and exploit the loophole that got him to unrestricted free agency and the Edmonton Oilers.

Predictably, Schultz didn't say much about the following million-dollar question that every interested party in his decision has wondered for weeks and even months.

Why did he not want to play for the Ducks?

"Nothing against them," Schultz told the Edmonton Journal. "I really enjoyed my time with them, and going to their camps. Lots of good people there. But it came down to me having the option to choose where I wanted to play. To play in Canada was a huge thing for me."

Schultz spoke only to Edmonton media and his comments mirrored that of what he said in addressing the question during a podcast on the Oilers' website. The prized college defenseman stayed quiet throughout the saga of not signing with the Ducks and entertaining offers from numerous NHL teams but he essentially confirmed the rumors that swirled around him.

The NHL made official Thursday what has been known for weeks, announcing that the salary cap will increase to $70.2 million for next season.

It comes after the NHLPA voted to trigger the five percent escalator in the current collective bargaining agreement, which guaranteed a rise in the cap ceiling. The league also announced that the cap floor is set at $54.2 million -- for now.

This announcement comes with one giant caveat -- a new CBA that has to be negotiated upon before the current one expires Sept. 15. What it means is both figures will change by the time an agreement is reached, which could take a while as the owners want both cap numbers to go down where the players are fine with the figures staying where they are.

So the $70.2 million figure can be taken with a grain of salt. You can bet there are owners who want the current proposed numbers to come down, especially the $54.2 million floor.

We're not suggesting that the Ducks owners Henry Samueli is one of them. In terms of spending, Samueli has typically stayed around the middle in relation to the 30 NHL teams except for when he spent to the cap to defend their Stanley Cup title. According to capgeek.com, the Ducks checked in at $59,256,051 last season-- just a shade over $5 million below the cap. Eleven teams spent less than that.

Anze Kopitar scored on a breakaway at the 8:13 mark in overtime to give the Los Angeles Kings a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals atat the Prudential Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

Kopitar scored by faking a backhand shot and then shifting to his forehand and beat prone Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur.

With the victory, the Kings continue their unbeaten streak on the road in the playoffs (9-0).

Colin Fraser scored in the first period for the Kings, the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference who beat the top three teams to get to their first Stanley Cup Finals since 1993. Anton Volchenkov tied it late in the second period for New Jersey, the East's sixth seed.

One oddsmaker on-line (www.Bovada.lv) has installed Pittsburgh as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup at 4/1.

The Penguins open the playoffs Wednesday at home against Philadelphia. They finished runner-up to the New York Rangers in the Atlantic Division with 108 points. Pittsburgh is the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Rangers and Vancouver Canucks are both listed at 11/2 by Bovada, followed by the St. Louis Blues (15/2) and Boston Bruins (8/1).

The Ducks went 1 for 2 Friday night, although they didn't play. They were hoping the Kings and Flames would both lose, but only the Kings did.

And it doesn't matter a bit if Anaheim does not win in Dallas today and start turning March around.

Friday:

Calgary 5, Winnipeg 3: Calgary scored the first three goals of the game against the Southeast Division contenders. It also benefited from a 3 for 3 power play, and moved up to within a point of eighth-place San Jose. Miikka Kiprusoff made 42 saves and won his 30th game - the seventh consecutive year he has gotten there.

The Ducks are six points behind 8th-place Los Angeles this morning, although they lost ground to Colorado. They have 60 points, Minnesota 61, Dallas and Colorado 64 and Calgary 65. The Kings have 66, three points behind 7th-place Phoenix.

But then the Sharks have 69 points just as Phoenix does, and are seeded third because they rank first in the foundering Pacific Division.

The Ducks are at Carolina tonight and need a few favors from their friends in both conferences in order to gain ground.

Wednesday:

Colorado 4, Los Angeles 1: The smell of change is in the air around the Toyota Sports Center, at least on the main floor where the Kings operate. Or maybe that's a refinery.